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Waterfront redevelopment and water restoration and cleanup in Muskegon and Marquette harbors and along the Detroit Riverfront is repositioning these communities and contributing to market-driven growth. The Huron “Riverup” initiative is transforming the 100 miles of Huron River from a neglected “backyard” and dumping ground to a destination and center of community life: with clean-up and restoration efforts, access improvements, water trail development, marketing, and even “art on the river” projects. Putting the rapids back into the Grand River, and enhanced public waterfront access and surrounding development in Grand Rapids is contributing to the impressive revitalization of the urban core. In Alpena, the nation’s only freshwater National Marine Sanctuary and its expansion from 448 square miles to 4,300 square miles, protecting precious Great Lakes shipwrecks and history, is a fulcrum attracting visitors, and year-round residents. Kayak and canoe water trails are being developed and promoted around the state to enhance recreation and tourism16 ; many accessed and promoted by new social media web and apps information – developed through new public-private collaboration.17
State water strategy can further identify and promote development of public-private water development policies and practices; sharing ideas, information and best practices among Michigan communities, and identifying the strategic initiatives and interventions most critical to accelerate water place-making strategy. Water technology business MEDC reports over 350 emerging water technology firms in Michigan today.18 In addition, Michigan has a tremendous water innovation infrastructure, as home to firms with strong competencies in discovering, deploying and manufacturing sophisticated products, and providing water engineering, clean-up and ecosystem services. From this base Michigan is well positioned to develop, build, and export new smart-water products and services and participate in the growing multi-billion dollar global business marketplace: • • •
Michigan firms are already identifying and exploiting new global markets for water products like Cascade Engineering in water cleaning and Dow Chemicals in water filtering. Companies like GM, Chrysler, Ford, Masco, PVS Chemical, BASF, Nichols paper utilities DTE and Consumers Energy are all advancing water conservation and treatment tools and technologies. Water and ecosystem service firms like Limnotech Engineering, ASTI Environmental, Environmental Consulting and Technology Inc. (ECT) are building on work and expertise gleaned from cleaning up Michigan and Great Lakes water, to new work redeveloping water ecosystems -- from Belle Isle in Detroit, and Lake St. Clair in Macomb County -- to other states, and international clients, including nearby Toronto, and far away China and India.
16. See Water Trail May Boost Tourism, www.milive.com/outdoors/index 17. As in www.michiganwatertrails.org developed by the State DEQ, Michigan Sea Grant and Land Information Access Association (LIAA), and www.huronriverwatertrail.org 18. Gil Pezza, MEDC, conversation with author.
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The Michigan Economic Center at Prima Civitas – www.mieconomiccenter.org